The role of Data Scientist has been getting a lot of attention lately. Brendan Tierney's blog post titled Type I and Type II Data Scientists adds an interesting perspective by defining and characterizing two key types of Data Scientist, both of which are needed in an organization.
Tierney writes about Type I Data Scientists, "These are people who know a lot about and are really good at a technique or technology that is associated with Data Science. ...have a deep knowledge of their topic and can tell/show you lots of detail about how best to to explore data in their given field." Whereas Type II Data Scientists "concentrate on the business goals and business problems that the organisation are facing. Based on these they will identify what the data scientist project will focus on, ensuring that there is a measurable outcome and business goal." Type IIs are also characterized as good communicators and story tellers.
As the role of Data Scientist continues to evolve, continuing to add structure and definition to the role, or roles, will help organizations make the most of advanced analytics and data science projects.